Please donate to support our ‘Plants to Save the Planet’ Project. The Project is directed at enabling designers of ‘carbon farms’ and ‘food forests’: agroecosystems of perennial plants, to choose the most appropriate plants for their requirements and site conditions. We are working on a subset of plants in the PFAF database identified as having the most potential for inclusion in such designs. We are adding search terms and icons to those plants pages, and providing a range of search options aligned to categories of plants and crop yields, with Help facilities including videos. More >>>

Lycium pallidum - Miers.

Common Name

Pale Wolfberry, Pale desert-thorn, Rabbit thorn

Family

Solanaceae

USDA hardiness

5-9

Known Hazards

Although no records of toxicity have been seen for this species, it does belong to a family that contains many poisonous plants. Some caution should be applied, especially towards leaves or unripe fruits, though ripe fruits are almost certainly edible.

Habitats

Dry plains and hills.

Range

Central and Southern N. America.

Edibility Rating

(3 of 5)

Other Uses

(3 of 5)

Weed Potential

No

Medicinal Rating

(2 of 5)

Care

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Stan_Shebs

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Stan_Shebs

Translate this page:

Summary

Physical Characteristics

Lycium pallidum is a deciduous Shrub growing to 1.8 m (6ft). It is hardy to zone (UK) 6. It is in flower from May to August. The species is hermaphrodite (has both male and female organs) and is pollinated by Bees. Suitable for: light (sandy), medium (loamy) and heavy (clay) soils, prefers well-drained soil and can grow in nutritionally poor soil. Suitable pH: acid, neutral and basic (alkaline) soils. It cannot grow in the shade. It prefers dry or moist soil. The plant can tolerate maritime exposure.

Synonyms

Habitats

Edible Uses

Fruit - raw, cooked or dried for later use[[46, 61, 85, 183, 257]. The fruit keeps well when dried and ground into a meal[183]. The fruit should be perfectly ripe if it is eaten raw[95]. The Hopi Indians boiled the fruit, drained off the water and ground the fruit into a mush. Clay was then mixed with water until a thick consistency was achieved, this was mixed with the berries and the whole lot eaten[216]. The fruit is about 10mm in diameter[200].

Medicinal Uses

Plants For A Future can not take any responsibility for any adverse effects from the use of plants. Always seek advice from a professional before using a plant medicinally.CancerOdontalgic

The ground up root has been placed in a tooth cavity to bring relief from toothache[257]. The bark and the dried berries have been used as a 'life medicine'[257]. The fruit of many members of this genus is a very rich source of vitamins and minerals, especially in vitamins A, C and E, flavanoids and other bio-active compounds. It is also a fairly good source of essential fatty acids, which is fairly unusual for a fruit. It is being investigated as a food that is capable of reducing the incidence of cancer and also as a means of halting or reversing the growth of cancers[214].

Our new book Edible Shrubs is now available.

Edible Shrubs provides detailed information, attractively presented, on over 70 shrub species. They have been selected to provide a mix of different plant sizes and growing conditions. Most provide delicious and nutritious fruit, but many also have edible leaves, seeds, flowers, stems or roots, or they yield edible or useful oil.

Other Uses

Special Uses

Cultivation details

Does not require a rich soil, flowering and fruiting better in a well-drained soil of moderate quality[11]. Succeeds in impoverished soils[200]. Requires a sunny position[200]. Tolerates maritime exposure[200]. Hardy to about -17°c[200]. Plants do not always fruit well in Britain[11], particularly after a cool summer[200].

Temperature Converter

Type a value in the Celsius field to convert the value to Fahrenheit:

Celsius
Fahrenheit:

The PFAF Bookshop

Plants For A Future have a number of books available in paperback and digital form. Book titles include Edible Plants, Edible Perennials, Edible Trees, and Woodland Gardening. Our new book to be released soon is Edible Shrubs.

Propagation

Seed - sow early spring in a greenhouse. Germination is usually good and fairly quick. Prick out the seedlings into individual pots when they are large enough to handle and grow them on in the greenhouse for their first winter. Plant out in late spring or early summer. Pinch out the shoot tips of the young plants in order to encourage bushy growth[78]. Cuttings of half-ripe wood, 5 - 10cm with a heel if possible, July/August in individual pots in a frame. Good percentage[78]. Cuttings of mature wood of the current season's growth, autumn to late winter in a cold frame. High percentage[78, 200]. Division of suckers in late winter. Very easy, the suckers can be planted out direct into their permanent positions. Layering.

Other Names

If available other names are mentioned here

Tomatillo, Rabbit thorn,

Found In

Countries where the plant has been found are listed here if the information is available

Australia, Mexico, North America, USA,

Weed Potential

Right plant wrong place. We are currently updating this section.
Please note that a plant may be invasive in one area but may not in your area so it’s worth checking.

Expert comment

Author

Botanical References

Links / References

Readers comment

QR Code

What's this?

This is a QR code (short for Quick Response) which gives fast-track access to our website pages. QR Codes are barcodes that can be read by mobile phone (smartphone) cameras. This QR Code is unique to this page. All plant pages have their own unique code. For more information about QR Codes click here.

1. Copy and print the QR code to a plant label, poster, book, website, magazines, newspaper etc and even t-shirts.

2. Smartphone users scan the QR Code which automatically takes them to the webpage the QR Code came from.

3. Smartphone users quickly have information on a plant directly for the pfaf.org website on their phone.

Add a comment

If you have important information about this plant that may help other users please add a comment or link below. Only comments or links that are felt to be directly relevant to a plant will be included. If you think a comment/link or information contained on this page is inaccurate or misleading we would welcome your feedback at admin@pfaf.org. If you have questions about a plant please use the Forum on this website as we do not have the resources to answer questions ourselves.

* Please note: the comments by website users are not necessarily those held by PFAF and may give misleading or inaccurate information.

To leave a comment please Register or login here All comments need to be approved so will not appear immediately.

Content

PFAF Newsletter

*Email Address

Stay informed about PFAFs progress, challenges and hopes by signing up for our free email ePost. You will receive a range of benefits including:
* Important announcements and news
* Exclusive content not on the website
* Updates on new information & functionality of the website & database

We will not sell or share your email address.
You can unsubscribe at anytime.